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Sunday, July 29, 2012

220 Photos Later

Most, if not all, of RH's houses use pre-framed walls which are then assembled on site. Granted, I would much rather have the walls framed on site for exact measurements but then, one can't have everything one wants. While I completely understand the positives from utilizing this method, there are, as with any business decision, accompanying negatives. Lumber will get damaged and is to some degree expected; however, it also depends on the crew and how they choose to repair or replace the defective areas and how keen of an eye your PM has. My husband and I walked through the house, which despite my griping, looks amazing! There is a TON of 2x4s in there and I don't expect every one to be perfectly placed and perfectly nailed ... BUT I do notice the ones that aren't. I don't think our PM has gone through the entire house to inspect it yet (although one wall was marked via spray paint where the studs were completely missed). We still have a little over a week until the pre-drywall walkthough so I'll give him time to inspect on his own. That being said, with the trusty camera in hand, I documented our concerns. Some were minor like poorly nailed areas, ripped barriers, studs with chunks missing, chipped door frame, etc. Others were a little more serious such as approximately 4 inches of water in the hole for the basement support post, the ~ 1/4 inch of standing water that the stairs are sitting in and soaking up, broken walls, and gaps in the exterior walls and gaps around the windows.

The oddball 2x4 in the morning room was removed. It looks as though that was just a temporary wall. The hole in the garage to the basement, however, has not been addressed yet. I'm being patient.

Here's a peek of some of the not-so-pretty pictures:

Try, try, try again?

That's the house wrap on the other side

OK, who tried to (unsuccessfully) bust through the wall?

soggy basement steps :(

soaking tub for the support post

(Note to self: put measuring tape in the "Let's-go-check-out-the-house kit")

reflection of the upstairs in the basement puddle

Now that the negatives are out of the way, let's move to best part of the post and check out the house,! The crew was in overdrive this
week: framing is "complete" (minus the fixes); most of the stairs are
installed (temporary stairs are in place); the trusses and roof are up;
shingles delivered; house wrapped; windows and doors installed... (aside: While the crew was busy crossing off items from their punch list, I
started creating one for our current home as we plan to update it after
we move out to avoid having little hands and paws in
everything. Checking out the new house is far, far better than thinking about ripping out old carpet and counters and such.)

Of the trades, only the HVAC guys
were able to work on the house last week. Much of the
basement was complete so this week, we expect the focus will shift to
installing the second furnace in the attic and installing the duct work
for the second floor. Major thumbs up to them for the taping and
sealing so far although they did miss a spot!

Isn't she a
beauty? This Comfortmaker furnace has an EnergyStar rating of 96.
I
want to convert the space under the stairs to storage when the basement
is finished.

main trunk runs parallel with the support beam

This is the attic furnace room. (bedroom next to the garage is below)

Before I get too far ahead, it's time for a little rewind. We entered the community from the rear entrance and caught a
glimpse of the ROOF! So instead of showing you the front first, let's
check out the back!

on second thought, maybe I don't want to clean all of those windows...

open windows = fantastic breeze

the neglected angle

home <3

hello, pretty stairs!

on the landing between the first and second floor.
The stairs by the front door are for the top half of the staircase.

looking down from the second floor

From the picture above, the round top window is behind me. There's plenty of walking space so I believe I'll be purchasing some sort of low bench. Because of the center bumpout for the foyer, there's a little bit of a framed off area. I'm hoping it's just boxed off and not a HVAC chase because I am dreaming of many plans for this little area.

useable nook?

There aren't many photos of the second floor since it's just a bunch of open frames but just a teaser, here are a couple. I did scowl at the location where the off-centered column will be but am refusing to post a picture.

location of corner tub

not sure where these are going...

The attic is behind the house wrap. Can you imagine if it ran the whole length of the house?

I've always seen roofers with their safety harnesses but never how they hooked to the house. For those of you curious, here's a safety bar attached to the trusses.

Close-up of questionable space. Hoping this is useable -- would like to either extend the closet or use it for extra storage (boxed with door or open shelves)

standing in the closet

And now for potential photos to be printed and framed:

behind the furnace room

not liking this one as much any more but this is part of the tub surround. maybe if it was cropped a bit

discarded circular saw blade. might crop this one a little more so the whole blade isn't in frame

I desperately wanted to get something new for the house and I've been set on purchasing this little eye popper for some time, so we made a pit stop to Ikea to pick it up while it was still on sale (until 5 August). Unfortunately, it won't be assembled until it's in the new house but that's OK because I'm happy. I'll be seeing this baby every time I walk through the front door and get hit with a punch of red.

not to scale ... and darn it, I forgot to flip the image (our stairs will be on the left).

Half of it will be a play/game area. Since we want to avoid TV during meals, the other half will be a temporary TV room until we finish the basement and the media room. Then, I will claim the attic as my art studio and office. (Hubby gets the study)